


Trust

by HoonIsSoonOld



Category: Naruto
Genre: Bottom Uzumaki Naruto, First Kiss, M/M, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Nara Shikamaru, Top Nara Shikamaru, i'm lazy okay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-25 05:13:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 12,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21630691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoonIsSoonOld/pseuds/HoonIsSoonOld
Summary: With a target on his back, Naruto hid himself under the cover of an obnoxious, happy child. He never had any friends since all the children followed in suit of their parents, he was a demon to be killed. But, when Naruto is left for dead on the night of his  seventh birthday, why does someone decide to help him?
Relationships: Nara Shikamaru/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 75
Kudos: 602





	1. Saviour

At the young age of three years old, Naruto had understood why he received the looks the villagers gave him when he walked down the street, he understood that he brought back haunting memories for these people. He understood why they always hurt him so badly, why they never showed him any mercy, he was accustomed to all of this. He understood this all when he met the Kyuubi- or in other words, Kuruma. The young child befriended the demon, the embodiment of hate, quite quickly. Kuruma had told the young child about what he had been forced to do, how he was forced to relentlessly attack the poor village, but the young boy understood because they were both seen as each other. The demon had offered to train Naruto and help him get stronger to fight off the villagers whenever they attacked him, but strangely- he refused. His reason? He didn't want to hurt anyone, his existence was a bother, but it allowed those villagers to release their pent up anger and hurt because of losing the lives of their loved ones and since he was the container for the very demon that took those lives, he was their scapegoat and he didn't mind. He also wanted to go through the process of school, he wanted to try live a normal life and be a normal child, even though he knew that would never be possible.

As he grew up, the beatings had gotten even worse and he had to rely on Kuruma's chakra to keep him healthy. But, on his seventh birthday, everything had taken a turn for the worse. It was the day they would treat him even worse than the other days of the year since today was the anniversary of when they had lost their loved ones. Currently, Naruto was backed up into an alleyway as the villagers took out all their anger and frustration on the poor boy, inflicting all the pain they could. The young child cowered as he let them beat him, not noticing when someone stumbled through the crowd with a weapon. "He should be old enough to take this, right?" a man asked, receiving cheers of agreement from the crowd "he'll heal himself anyways, like the demon he is, that means we can do whatever we want" the man continued, a murderous glint residing in his pupils as he stepped closer to the shaking child, the weapon practically shining in his hand. Curiosity had gotten the best of Naruto as he looked up to see what they were talking about. It was as fast as light, the next attack- he saw the man's hand aiming for his head with a knife in hand. The knife forced its way through the boy's eyeball, earning a shrill scream from the child, that was one of the first screams he had given them in years. "Let's hurt him some more before he wakes up anyone!" the man shouted encouragingly, which led to most of the villagers taking turns to mark him with the knife before they scrambled away from the scene.

He felt dizzy from all the blood loss, not able to stand up as he fell back down after his second attempt. _Would he finally die here?_ He could hear Kuruma panicking in his head, the demon couldn't heal him that efficiently due to how unstable the young child was, he didn't want to harm Naruto any further. Turning to look at the moon, he could only see out of one of his eyes, but the light that came from the moon was soon blocked by a figure "please... don't hurt me" he pleaded weakly, trying to move away as the figure walked closer to him "p-please... i'm sorry" the young boy begged, choking slightly on his own blood as the figure crouched down beside him.

With a sigh, the figure picked up the battered boy, arms circling underneath his legs and back, bringing the bloodied body close to their own. Hardly able to maintain consciousness or struggle as the stranger carried him somewhere, Naruto only remembered hearing a grumble of "how troublesome" before he had passed out from the amount of blood he lost.

His eyelids fluttered open once he regained consciousness, only able to see out of one eyes as he looked around at his surroundings- this wasn't his room. Panicking, despite his major injuries, Naruto rushed out of the bed and quickly exited the room, seeing stairs when he left the room and immediately going down them, passing what seemed to be a living room, without looking anywhere else and seeing double doors in the next room. Heading straight to them, he seemed to have entered a kitchen when a voice called out to him "honey, don't go outside yet, you haven't healed properly" the person instructed, causing him to freeze in his tracks and turn around. He was met with kind eyes, looking at the woman who just spoke to him. She walked over and guided him to the living room, making him take a seat on the couch, which made him notice two other males, they looked like father and son.

"Would you like me to explain how you got here?" she asked, receiving a hesitant nod from the shaken boy. "We were awoken by a scream last night so we decided to go check it out since it sounded like someone was in pain, then my son stumbled upon you in an alleyway and carried you here to recover. When he found you... you were so injured, it was a scary sight, but you've healed tremendously, if not completely, so you have nothing to worry about" she assured, smiling at him before she continued "I am Nara Yoshino, the man beside you is my husband, Nara Shikaku" she introduced, pointing to Shikaku, who gave a nod in return "and my son, Nara Shikamaru" she introduced yet again, gesturing to the younger boy who looked around his age. "If you couldn't tell yet, we are apart of the Nara clan" she concluded, smiling at him.

A year later, they would enter the academy.


	2. We meet again

At the age of eight years old, even though it took him three tries, Naruto was finally accepted into the ninja academy and he was practically bouncing off of the walls when he returned home. _Finally. He was finally accepted to the academy and he couldn't be any happier._ But, this was the first time he had been happy in ages, everyone thought he was an idiot since it took him more than one try to get accepted into the academy. He just had to prove them wrong, the time would come later on in life, he just had to believe it. That explained why, on the first time, he was the loudest kid there, trying to come across as a hyperactive kid, one that was way too happy to be in education for hours. While he was bothering the teacher, trying to find out what they would learn, he heard someone shout from the other side of the classroom "Sit down and be quiet, demon! We've heard enough of that damn mouth of yours!" 

His words were cut off by that, causing him to look over at the person in shock- it was a girl. She was sporting pink hair and was giving him a look that showed she was annoyed and meant every word she said. "Sorry, i'll be quiet" he mumbled in return, going to his assigned seat which was next to some depressed and angry looking kid, he was probably emo. Class continued like usual and Naruto remained quiet, lunch rolling around fairly quickly. He had no parents to make anything and he couldn't possibly bring cup ramen to school, they probably wouldn't let him enter with it. Watching as everyone started walking out and going into their friend groups, the eight year old stayed at his seat quietly, even though his hunger was eating away at him, he would have to wait until he got home since he didn't have any money to buy school lunch either. After sitting there for a while and wallowing in his own thoughts, Naruto hardly noticed the sound of the someone entering the room, only noticing when some food was placed in front of him and someone slid into the seat next to him. "Is this for me?" he asked, looking at the person beside him, receiving a nod as they folded their arms on the table and rested their head on their arms as a substitute for a pillow. "You really didn't need to- I- thank you-"

"Don't mention it, it was troublesome enough to get up and talking requires more energy, let me sleep and wake me up when lunch is over" the person, who Naruto had finally recognised to be Shikamaru, said before letting out a yawn and getting comfortable. Nodding in response, even though it wasn't seen, Naruto started to eat in silence as he saw the other male had fallen asleep. It was quite funny to him actually, how Shikamaru was probably the laziest person that Naruto knew, but he made the journey to the lunch area to get him food. What a friend he was, even though he couldn't voice out his appreciation, he knew that his friend already knew that he was grateful.

After a while, the lunch bell started to ring as Naruto finished his food and threw all the rubbish in the bin that was in the classroom. Students started to pile in, just as the young blond returned to his seat, gently shaking Shikamaru awake, to which the other boy just shrugged him off without much effort and attempted to continue napping. "Hey, Shikamaru, class is about start- you need to get up" the young male continued persisting as he shook his friend awake, receiving what you could hardly call a response as he continued to rest on his arms, humming instead as a reply. "Your mum said I should tell her when you're not focusing in class, I guess I should tell her you were sleeping before we even started- hmm, should I?" he pretended to question, watching as Shikamaru finally got up with a groan falling from his lips.

Standing up, Shikamaru mumbled a quick "troublesome" as he made his way towards his seat without looking back at Naruto, causing the blonde to chuckle at how his friend responded in similar ways all the time, knowing that he was clearly annoyed by the fact that his rest was disturbed. Even so, he continued to be loud in class until it ended, keeping up the image that he let others have on him. 

"Okay, class, everyone line up and we'll get on with it" his teacher, Iruka, ordered, making Naruto panic as he just realised what they were about to do. _The genin test!_ He completely forgot about it and was nervous when it was finally his turn and, to no surprise, he failed. Naruto sulked as everyone else received their hitai-ate individually, it was such an amazing ceremony and he wasn't included. Sighing, he walked out of the classroom without anyone noticing, well- that was what he thought.   
Suddenly, the other teacher who had been in the room was right beside him "hey, Naruto- there's still a way for you to pass if you really want to" the teacher, Mizuki, said as he looked at the young blonde, knowingly giving him false hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can we just skip past this- everyone knows what happens already, I didn't even write exactly what happened, bUt- just pretend the whole Iruka giving Naruto his forehead protector happened already.


	3. Team who?

It wasn't a surprise to Naruto that the teacher, Mizuki, actually tricked him into getting the Scroll of Seals. It actually hurt, these attempts to either kill him or get him banished, he just wanted _friends_. He didn't even need more than one, Naruto would literally be fine with one friend. His train of thought was suddenly interrupted by Iruka's announcement "and lastly, team seven will hold four genins because we have an even number of genins this year; Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakuro, Uzumaki Naruto and Shikamaru Nara, the sensei for that team will be Hatake Kakashi, the Ino-Shika-Cho combination is not going to be formed this year, due to the request of one of the families, that is all- you must wait here for your squad leaders to show up" he concluded with a smile, walking out of the classroom when the squad leaders started rolling in.

Four hours. They had been waiting for _four_ whole hours for this guy "that's it! I'm tired of waiting" Naruto announced loudly as he got up and practically pranced to the teacher's desk.

"Naruto! What are you doing?" the pink haired girl, who he now knew to be Sakura, shouted when she saw him setting up something at the door.  
"I'm setting up a prank! Stop screaming, he deserves it for making us wait so long!" he shouted back, just to match her tone as he finished setting up his little prank, quickly walking back to sit down next to Shikamaru with a proud look on his face.

"A jounin would never fall for something like that-" the sound of something dropping at the same time the door opened, made silence fall throughout the room. Naruto cheered and childishly stuck his tongue out at Sasuke, a smug smile taking over his face soon after since he was able to prove a mighty Uchiha wrong.

"Hey" the jounin greeted with what looked like a smile- it was hard to tell with the mask on, but he was eyeing them all observantly as he continued " meet me up on the room in at least ten minutes" he said, giving his first order as he shunshinned away, the sudden use of the technique shocking the genins as they started to file out.

"Shikamaru, let's go" Naruto said in almost a whining tone, pulling on the said boy's arm, pulling him along as he made his way to the roof, they had gotten there in just under ten minutes because of how slow Shikamaru was walking since Naruto obviously wasn't going to drag him the whole way there. When they had arrived, Kakashi mentioned that they were going to introduce themselves, giving an example of his own introduction since Sakura asked the stupid question of 'what do you mean by an introduction?' _what an idiot._

Soon enough, they had gotten to Naruto and the young male practically stumbled over his words before actually introducing himself, he had to seem cheery "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen, I eat a lot of it because it's the most amazing thing ever! I love orange and the Nara clan- oh! I also dislike mean people! My dream is to become Hokage- it's not really a dream, but a fact because I will become Hokage in the future, believe it!" he finished his introduction with his little catchphrase before they finally moved onto Shikamaru and surprisingly, the young boy wasn't sleeping.

"Nara Shikamaru, I like playing shogi, watching clouds... I guess playing with Naruto... I don't like pointless questions or wasting energy on useless things and..." the boy paused for a second, looking at Naruto's expectant smile, since he thought Shikamaru was going to give an amazing introduction, before he continued " I guess I could be the Hokage's assistant or something " he finished, the introduction of his taking at least five minutes longer that everyone else's since he took his time.

"Yeah, that's right! Me and Shikamaru are going to be the bestest of friends! We're gonna be together forever!" Naruto elaborated, a cheeky smile on his lips as he slung his arm around Shikamaru's shoulders. Not bothered enough to push the energetic boy away, the young genius just stayed where he was without any trouble.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at this, not that they would see it anyways, but he quickly carried on before the genins noticed "anyways, tomorrow- I want you guys to meet me at the third training ground for something very important, be there by 7 sharp and don't eat breakfast either" he advised before he shunshinned away again. They were in for a ride tomorrow.


	4. A test

For some reason, Naruto had begged Shikamaru to get up early so the duo could get there early, the spiky-haired child just dismissed it as his friend being way too energetic. Either way, somehow- he found himself walking outside the Nara compound at 6:30 in the damn morning because of that short ball of energy that was waiting patiently at the entrance for him, only due to the fact that he had taken longer because of his nagging mother who forced him to have breakfast-he was instructed not to, but his mother was not having it. With a sigh, he let the blonde boy jump on him as a form a greeting; a hug was practically expected from such a touchy and sociable person. 

Shikamaru hardly hugged anyone, but he couldn't really deny his friend a hug when it was just a quick greeting. "Well, i'm here so let's get going" he said, his words accompanied by a yawn as they set off. The streets were quiet and practically empty at this time in the morning, aside from the few shop owners who made sure their store was set up, clean and ready for the public eye. "Why would you want to be out here when it's so empty? We could literally get there in five minutes" Shikamaru asked, noticing that the sudden question had gotten him an interesting reaction out of Naruto. His lips were twitching slightly, as if they wanted to pull themselves down into a frown, before the blonde beamed at his friend.

"It's just more peaceful and we don't have to be all fast and ninja-like, we can take our time- our sensei will probably come at midday anyways" Naruto joked, as if silently pleading for Shikamaru -if he had seen the hesitation of his answer and smile- to forget what he had seen. 

"That's not an excuse to make me drag myself out of my bed at this time, you're lucky i'm kind enough to not let you stay there waiting by yourself" the brunet replied, picking up on the signal immediately, Naruto probably had his reasons for not wanting to be around people so he wasn't going to ask him now, that was a conversation for another time.

With a wider smile, if that was even humanly possible, Naruto hooked his arm around his best friend's shoulders as he had done many times before "yup! That's because you are my bestest friend ever! Of course you're kind- ya' know, you're just like your parents!" the blonde said, a cheeky chuckle slipping past his lips as he complimented the boy beside him. Shikamaru couldn't help but smile at his friend's antics, they were hard to not find likeable.

He had jinxed it. Naruto had gone and jinxed it. Kakashi wasn't just late, no- he wasn't just late, he didn't come at midday like Naruto had predicted; he came at 2 in the _fricking afternoon._ When they all questioned why he was late, all he was to say was "a black cat had crossed my path, so I had to take the long way" _what kind of excuse was that?_ Nonetheless, the four had met up at 7, but waited for this man for 7 whole hours! How ironic!

"Well..." Kakashi paused, clearing his throat to ease the awkward atmosphere, due to his tardiness "let's get started" he said, walking over to an alarm clock and pressing one of those dodgy buttons, whatever they were called "here we go, it's set for evening" he started to explain, receiving confused looks from all of them as he pulled out three bells and held them up before he continued "your assignment is very simple, you just have to take these bells from me, that's all there is to it" he said, shaking the bells slightly "if you can't get them by evening, you'll go without lunch-" a wail from Naruto interrupted him, but he paid no mind to it "you'll be tied to those posts, and you'll watch while I eat my lunch in front of you" he said, looking back at the fresh genins.

 _So that's why he didn't want us to eat breakfast_ Shikamaru realized quickly, hearing Naruto's stomach rumble.

"Wait a minute, there's four of us, how come there's only three bells?" Sakura asked while holding up three fingers, receiving a light chuckle from their sensei.

"Well, that way, one of you will end up tied to a post and ultimately disqualified for not completing the mission, that one goes back to the academy" he answered, receiving a noise of frustration from Naruto "then again, all three of you could flunk the mission, you can use any weapon- including shuriken, if you're not prepared to kill me then you won't be able to take the bells, when I say start then you may begin" Kakashi had continued to talk, slightly insulting them which got a rise out of Naruto, causing the blonde to rush at him with a kunai. In a split second, Kakashi had suspended Naruto with the young boy's kunai a small distance away from his head, also holding his arm behind his head "don't rush, I didn't say start yet"

Naruto continued to protest, causing his teammates to step back slightly before he was released. They were in awe by how fast Kakashi was since they didn't even see him move to block Naruto. But, once he said start, they would all have to think carefully about their actions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really write action scenes- well, I have hardly written any, so I don't know why I set this in actual Naruto XD i'm so stupid, i'm going to skip the test because I don't want to write a trash fighting scene. I'll probably have to skip ahead- I'll figure it out lol


	5. Naruto

After they had surprisingly passed the tricky test, the four genins were in the forest beside the training grounds, just lousing after their sensei left them to cool off. "Hey, be quiet! I'm trying to show you something cool!" Naruto shouted before he went on to poke Shikamaru endlessly "see! He doesn't get angry!" he continued loudly, chuckling as his best friend just mumbled something inaudibly before rolling over onto his side.

"Naruto, why don't you be quiet?!" Sakura screeched, like the hypocrite she is, as she punched the poor boy in his head, resulting in a loud whine from him "Sasuke is clearly annoyed by your stupid nonsense, so be quiet!" she said, not quite finished as Naruto muttered a quiet _"Sorry, Sakura"_ while rubbing his head, where he had been punched, in a playful manner " I guess your parents never taught _monsters_ how to shut up when they're supposed to" the pink-haired girl commented obnoxiously, huffing as she went to sit beside Sasuke, not noticing the way Naruto tensed up and the smile that he was sporting, momentarily falling after she turned away.

Before Sasuke or Sakura could turn back around to wonder why Naruto was suddenly quiet, a loud groan pierced through the silence "mother wants me home early to help with dinner so let's go, Naruto" Shikamaru suddenly said, standing up and dragging the uncharacteristically quiet blonde along with him, leaving the other two genins confused as they left. Once they left the forest and walked onto the streets, Shikamaru noticed that people had suddenly started to mumble things and throw glares his way, also ushering their children behind them protectively. _Huh? What's going on?_ Some people even went inside their houses or into stores, this never happened when he was by himself. That meant it had to be someone else, obviously not him- Naruto, it had to be Naruto, but _why?_ Before he could even question him, the blonde was already hugging him goodbye and walking off. Looking up, he realised that they had reached the Nara compound "bye, Naruto!" he said, raising his voice a little so the blonde could hear him, before he walked into the compound. 

What he said had been a lie, he noticed the sudden change in atmosphere once Sakura had muttered those words and decided that it was best if he dragged the blonde away from the area. Mumbling a lazy greeting, Shikamaru took off his shoes before entering the house and noticed that the table had already been set up for dinner and his parents were waiting for him so he sat down opposite the both of them. Dinner was quiet for a while before Shikamaru decided to speak up "hey, dad, why do people avoid Naruto like he's the plague? They give him weird looks too- but, he hasn't done anything wrong so, why?" he asked, hoping his smart father had an answer for him.

"What do _you_ think of Naruto, son?" his father asked in return, dismissing his son's other questions, looking up at him, waiting for an answer since the young boy was contemplating over what he should say.

"Naruto, he's- I don't know what to say, he special, he's such a bright guy and I don't know how we're friends- best friends," he said, correcting himself before continuing, "but I still believe that he hasn't done anything wrong, the only wrong think I can think of- is him getting me out of my bed at ungodly hours in the morning" Shikamaru said absentmindedly, telling the truth as he looked back at his father.

"He shouldn't know himself, but if he does- then he will tell you in his own time, just follow your heart and do what you think is right" his father advised, completely avoiding the questions that were thrown at him previously.

With a nod, the young boy piped up again "I have another question" he stated, waiting for his father to give him the go ahead before he went and asked "are Naruto's parents sick or something? He never talks about them and was quiet when they were mentioned" 

"Son..." his father paused, not knowing if he should answer or not, looking at his wife to make sure "Naruto... he doesn't know who his parents are, they both died when he was born- I cannot tell you who they are because it is confidential for his own safety, but the young boy is an orphan and has been for the whole of his life, the Hokage was able to secure a small apartment for him since no orphanages wanted him" his father answered, sighing when he finished.

Shikamaru nodded in response, taking all of this information in, deciding that he shouldn't ask his father anymore questions because he doesn't want to ruin the mood at the table. But, what he had now realised, was why he had _never_ seen Naruto's house before, it was almost as if the blonde did this on purpose. After the little walk today, Shikamaru also realised why his best friend would always want to go to school together super early and go home by himself. It was because there were many villagers outside after school and there were hardly any in the morning- and if they were, it would most likely be shop owners trying to set up their stores so they wouldn't be focused on anyone in the streets. It all made sense now, Naruto didn't want him to see how other people viewed him.

Once he finished his meal, Shikamaru put his dishes in the sink before going up to his room- in all honesty, he didn't care at all about how people viewed Naruto, the blonde is practically his only friend anyways, why would he turn his back on such an amazing person just because others don't like him? That's it- tomorrow, he's going to make them leave later than they usually do and he's going to walk home with the blonde, he was going to get to the bottom of this.


	6. Thank you

Shikamaru woke up late on purpose the next day, knowing that Naruto would wait for him anyways- he wanted to see if they would get the same amount of looks they had received yesterday- he pretended to rush while getting ready and saw that, as soon as he left his house, Naruto stood up from where he was sat waiting "sorry, I didn't wake up on time- ready to go?" he explained, sending a question Naruto's way almost immediately after doing so.

"Yeah, it's alright! I knew you would come out sometime soon- you may be lazy, but you wouldn't leave me hanging like that" Naruto replied as they started to walk, oblivious to Shikiamaru's observant eyes as he scanned the streets that were filled with people. The brunet knew he wasn't imagining anything, the way Naruto lowered his eyes a little and shuffled closer to him ever so slightly. Was he afraid of them? They were just normal civilians, how could he be afraid of them? He maintained a passive face expression, even though there was a scowl desperately tugging at his lips, he wanted to question all of these people, but he couldn't do that with Naruto around, the fool would probably defend them. They only came into the village to get a few snacks before going to where they were actually supposed to go. Once reaching the shop, Shikamaru announced that he would go look around, telling Naruto to buy what he needed to buy, giving him some of the money that his mother gave him before he left.

True to his words, the brunet went to pick up some snacks that he thought they would enjoy, picking them up before he heard some commotion, silently walking around the shelves, Shikamaru found himself looking at a scene he wished he would have prevented. "This is the right amount of money, sir! It's unfair if you double the price, this is all the money I have!" Naruto replied, raising his voice a little since he was starting to get annoyed.

"Tough luck, kid, I don't treat killer demons the same as normal people, you're not normal so don't come here ever again!" the cashier said, obviously the shopkeeper as he practically threw Naruto out of the shop.

Although he was angry, Shikamaru walked over and looked at the items left on the counter "oh! I was looking for these, how much are they? Including my other stuff" he asked, feigning relief as he paid for his stuff. The man behind the counter charged him practically a quarter of what Naruto was going to pay, what a rip off- he'd get this man shut down if it was the last thing he did. Walking outside, he saw Naruto just sitting on the ground "hey, let's get out of here" he said, handing Naruto his stuff, ignoring the shocked look on his best friend's face as he walked away, completely missing the small, genuine smile that took over Naruto's face before the blond got up and hurried after his best friend.

Once they reached the forest that belonged to the Nara clan, the blonde of the two visibly relaxed as they ventured deeper into the forest, letting out a uncharacteristic sigh when they sat down beside the little river- waterfall, or whatever it was, sitting in silence for a while before Shikamaru spoke up "hey, Naruto" he said, getting the attention of the said boy before continuing "you know you can talk to me whenever something is wrong, right?" he questioned, looking at the blond, realizing that he stiffened slightly.

"Y-yes, why wouldn't I? We're best friends" the young boy replied, slouching a little beside the brunet, trying not to seem uncomfortable because of the current topic at hand.

"Then why won't you talk to me? Only me, my mother and my father know that you're partially blind, I see the way everyone looks at you, I saw how the shopkeeper practically tripled the price of those times on purpose, I know that you try your best to avoid people, Naruto, what's going on?" Shikamaru asked, bombarding his best friend with all the information he had learned.

"I- Shikamaru… I can't tell you, it's a top secret" the blond answered, looking away a little before turning towards the brunet completely, suddenly silent as he contemplated on what to do.

"What is-" Shikamaru halted, slightly gaping in shock as the lips, of his best friend, left his cheek "w-what was that for?" he asked, trying to keep his composure, he hoped Naruto knew that best friends don't kiss each other on the cheek.

"What do you mean? I'm saying thank you, but I mean it way more than a lot-"

"What are you talking about? That's not how you do it, all you had to do, was say thank you very much"

"But, doesn't your dad do that whenever your mum packs him lunch? Isn't that his way of saying that he's grateful?" the blond questioned out of confusion, once he finished explaining his theory.

" _No_ , Naruto, he does that because-" Shikamaru sighed, the light blush that made itself present, not helping his situation as he looked at his stupid best friend "only people who love each other do that and-"

"but I do love you! I love you so much, Shikamaru!" the blond shouted, practically leaping over the food between the two of them, in order to loop his arms around his best friend's neck, pulling him into a hug as he kissed him on the cheek again.

" _Naruto_ , friends don't kiss each other on the cheek-"

"Exactly! That's why we're not just normal friends- we're best friends!" Naruto replied, interrupting his best friend as he tried to express his love for the other boy.

"No, stupid- I don't mean all this in the way you're thinking" Shikamaru said, trying not to look at Naruto as the blond smiled at him, the blush that he was sporting, was embarrassing as it was already.

"Huh? What other way is there?" the blond question stupidly, not letting go of Shikamaru.

"Forget it, anyways- what was that 'thank you very much' for anyways? You did it twice" the brunet asked, not expecting the answer that he was about to be given.

"For caring"


	7. Permanent

A year had passed since then and the two of them continued to grow together as best friends, although Shikamaru still hadn't been able to question Naruto properly, puberty hitting the two like a truck as soon as they reached the age of nine. Together, they went through Naruto's sickening crush on Sakura, his constant arguments with Sasuke, on some days, his tardiness alike with Kakashi's and his conflicting emotions. Currently though, the two of them were lounging around in Shikamaru's room, the owner of the room taking a nap as his energetic friend tried his best to sit quietly, failing ultimately since he couldn't help but start touching the shogi pieces beside the window; his best friend had been playing before taking a nap. "What the hell" he mumbled out of confusion as he moved the pieces around without understanding a single thing about the game.

"Naruto, you know- if you wanted to know how to play then you could've asked me, I would've taught you" a voice, coming from behind him, said before yawning tiredly.

"Really?! Could you teach me then?" he asked excitedly, practically sprinting over to the bed and kneeling down beside it, looking at his friend- best friend expectantly.

"Nah, too late, you didn't ask before" Shikamaru answered, turning over onto his other side and ignoring the frown that took over his best friend's face.

"But!- That's just an excuse! You're being lazy" Naruto whined, jumping onto his best friend, forcing him onto his back so he had to look at him.

"And you're being troublesome, let me sleep" the brunet fired back, not bothering to try get Naruto off of him, closing his eyes and attempting to sleep. He was a fool for thinking that he could even try to get a wink of sleep around his hyperactive friend.

"I'll tell your mum, she'll kill you if she knew you were saying no to me" Naruto replied, sporting a cheeky grin as he started down at his best friend expectantly.

A groan slipped past Shikamaru's lips while he rubbed his face, weighing his options: either die having lived only nine years and a few months or, hopefully live the rest of his life. Screw it, if he died, he died "tell her whatever you want" he said, deciding his fate as the blond boy slid off of him and ran out of his room, practically bouncing downstairs. Letting out a sigh, he turned onto his side and attempted to go back to sleep, enjoying the silence for a while before he heard a shout of his name. He sighed yet again as he got out of bed and exited his room "Coming, mother!" he shouted back, walking down the stairs and making it to the living room, seeing Naruto all comfortable and snuggled up next to his mum on the couch.

"Naruto here told me that you won't teach him how to play shogi, is this true?" she asked, looking straight at him with a slight twitch of her eyebrow.

"Yeah, it is, I was trying to sleep" he answered, looking away so he didn't have to see his mother angry- she had a soft spot for Naruto and would get angry for his sake over the stupidest reasons. One time, Shikamaru beat him at a game and Naruto went running to his mother, that ended up in Shikamaru being banned from cloud watching for a whole two weeks- _two whole weeks!_

"Don't be mean, he's all upset now-"

"Fine, i'll take him out for ramen, come on Naruto" he said, interrupting his mother, so she didn't give him a task, and quickly walking away to put his shoes on. He heard Naruto's shout of glee before a stampede of footsteps made their way towards him. Looking over, he saw Naruto quickly slipping on his shoes and running out of the compound "Naruto, wait for me!" he shouted, closing his front door and strolling to where Naruto was, since he was obviously not going to run just to bring this guy to eat ramen. Just because Naruto insisted, on the way to Ichiraku's, the two of them held hands while walking down the street.

Well, it was more like Naruto dragging his best friend along; the real reason as to why they held hands though, was some sort of coping mechanism for all the stares and looks that civilians gave to Naruto; the blond would always squeeze Shikamaru's hand when we had started to get overwhelmed, not used to it as of yet. The walk was short and soon enough, they were walking through the curtains into the small, makeshift restaurant and they both took a seat beside each other. "Order anything you want, just don't rinse me dry, I don't have as much money as a working adult, it's just my pocket money-" he said, knowing that he would have no money left over after this anyways.

With a nod, his best friend started to order bowl after bowl of ramen, not stopping until he was full; he had quite an appetite for a measly nine year old genin. The reason they were genins at nine, was because their class was excelling at everything quite well so they tested them all early, even though they can't really be sent out on missions just as yet since the parents wanted to wait a while. "Thank you, Shikamaru!" the blond said, practically shouting after they exited Ichiraku's, their hands slotting together naturally while they walked down the street yet again.

"It was hardly a problem, at least you've had your fill for the day, I don't want to have mother shout at me again, it's such a drag having to deal with it all" he replied, not mentioning that he literally had no more money in his pockets; he wouldn't want to ruin Naruto's mood, he wanted to keep him happy. No matter what it took, even if it cost him his fortune, he was going to make sure that carefree smile, on his best friend's face, to be permanent.


	8. First love and heartbreak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Imma play around with the storyline ;) just a warning, mAjOR time skip here because i'm lazy

At the ages of ten through fifteen, Naruto developed his first crush, for the one and only Uchiha Sasuke and Shikamaru was the first person to know, them two being best friends and all. And now at the age of fifteen; the two of them no longer held hands as much since Naruto thought Sasuke wouldn't like him if he was too touchy with other people. Neither did they go out for ramen together as much as they used to, Naruto had become a little detached from his best friend and they were still yet to tell people that Naruto was half blind. No one knew that apart from Shikamaru and his parents, but the young blond didn't think he had to tell anyone and didn't see a point in people knowing either, they would just treat him differently. 

It wasn't Shikamaru's business anyways, Naruto could do whatever he wanted to do, and apparently, the fox was going to teach how to use his sensory anyways; it was some sort of family thing and Kurama apparently knew Naruto's mother and the sensory jutsu itself. In short, he was fine without Shikamaru and the brunet accepted that fact. The distance between them increased gradually when team 7 started to go out on more missions and Naruto would always pair himself up with Sasuke, leaving Shikamaru with Sakura; he was starting to feel like his family jutsu made him weak since even Sakura, the least useful member of the team, had complained about being his partner. Shikamaru didn't care though, it was okay- his father warned him about people not realising the importance of his family's jutsu. He still remembered that day, when they were sixteen, Naruto ran into his room shouting "hey, Shikamaru! I'm going to ask Sasuke to be my boyfriend today- ah! I'm so nervous! Help me!" and he was going to hate that day forever. Naruto hadn't been rejected that day, that was amazing, but he would hate that day because of what happened the next year.

At the age of seventeen, coincidentally when his parents weren't home, Naruto came stumbling into his room in a fit of tears; his blond friend had a spare key to their house so he wasn't surprised to see him just waltz into his room. What really surprised Shikamaru though, was the state his best friend was in; for a lazy guy, he was quite fast when speeding over to his crying friend- best friend and engulfing him in a hug. "Naruto, what's wrong?" Shikamaru asked while slowly maneuvering the blond to his bed, not knowing what else to do since he hadn't interacted with his best friend this much, ever since he started dating Sasuke; the two of them were inseparable so he hardly spent time with Shikamaru and his parents anymore.

"He's gone" the blond mumbled in response, practically sobbing into Shikamaru's shoulder, his words muffled by the fabric of his best friend's shirt. Not able to understand what his friend said, Shikamaru pulled back a little, still holding Naruto.

"What did you say?" he asked carefully, not wanting to send Naruto back into his previous crying state, he was less hysterical now.

"Sasuke, he's gone- he just up and left- no note, nothing- we're almost adults, what kind of fucking childish behaviour is this? I'm so done! I'm tired, he didn't even break up with me or anything, he just left in the middle of night; what makes it worse is that we were having a sleepover and it made me think that I'd get to see him the next morning- but no, he's gone and I don't know what to do" Naruto explained, trying his best to not cry even harder, failing ultimately.

"Breathe, Naruto" Shikamaru advised, being uncharacteristically affectionate -according to others- as he pulled back slightly, cupping Naruto's cheeks to wipe away the ongoing tears as he gave his best friend the silence he needed. He let the blond lean on him as the waterworks stopped eventually. Naruto had exhausted himself with all the crying, ending up with him falling asleep soon after, Shikamaru standing up to go downstairs as he heard his parents outside. "Naruto's upstairs, he's sleeping" he said, leaving out the reason why he was even here in the first place.

"Oh, I thought he wasn't coming over today" his mother stated, taking off her shoes before stepping into the house. That was true, he had already informed them that he wouldn't be able to visit today because something came up, so he wasn't surprised by the reaction his parents had given him.

"Yeah...but, he missed me too much to stay away from me for that long, he just had to come over and see me, he's tired because he was playing around a lot, that's why he's sleeping" Shikamaru replied, quickly coming up with a believable lie on the spot. His parents seemed to believe him, so he was alright for a while. Now, how was he going to deal with Naruto?


	9. My return

Alright, guess who’s back? ThIS gUy. I haven’t completely recovered, but I’ll start writing again for you guys! 

If you guys didn’t know, my mental state was quite unstable for a long time. I stated this on my Wattpad, but I forgot to say it here. But, I’m back now!


	10. Why?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Read everything, all the way to the end ;)

Seventeen. They were seventeen, but Sasuke chose to pull a stunt like this? It was so childish, Shikamaru couldn't even understand why he would do something like that. Heading back upstairs, the brunet sighed at the sight of his best friend sleeping on his bed, there was no valid reason as to why that bastard made Naruto cry- he wouldn't accept any reasoning for this. "Naruto, wake up, we need to talk" he said, once he had reached the bed, gently shaking the boy out of his slumber, receiving a confused gaze in return.

"About what?" his best friend shot back, sitting up slowly as he took in his surroundings, recognising the room straight away.

"That bastard- do you have any idea for why he would've left?" Shikamaru asked, watching as Naruto came to terms with what had happened, remembering everything. The blond male shook his head, looking as if he was ready to cry again any time soon. "Look, let's go for a walk, your shoes are beside the bed- you can freshen up or whatever, I'll wait downstairs" he suggested, before walking out of the room and walking downstairs, knowing that his best friend needed time alone to collect his thoughts and recover from whatever Sasuke pulled last night.

It wasn't long before Naruto decided to come downstairs, greeting Shikamaru's parents as they set off, leaving the compound grounds "you know, I don't think he even loved me, he was always so- so withdrawn, he never really wanted to do anything with me" the blond said, words practically flying out of his mouth as they approached the forest. Shikamaru stuck his hands in his pockets, not wanting his best friend to see the way he was clenching his fists out of pure rage- he still couldn't believe that heartless idiot would do this to Naruto, he didn't deserve this. As the blond continued to rant, venting all of his feelings, they heard shouts from nearby, dismissing it as people training. A flash of pink appeared and flew past the brunet and, the next thing he knew, Sakura was attacking Naruto, screaming at him.

"Where's Sasuke?! Tell me right now, you monster! What did you do to him?! He wouldn't have left like this- where is he?!" the pink-haired girl continued to shout at Naruto, grabbing onto him and shaking him back and forth, demanding an answer as her shouts fell on deaf ears, the blond stared at her in shock, not able to comprehend why she was attacking him of all people.

"I don't know" he finally answered, his panicked undertone making Shikamaru worry slightly, but the brunet chose to not do anything, not wanting to accidentally do something that he might regret.

"You have to know! Damn it, tell me where he is!" she demanded, seeming to not understand that Naturo really didn't know where Sasuke had run off to.

"Why me? Why are you asking me?! I wish I knew, Sakura- I honestly wish I did! I don't know- I don't, okay?! Why can't you just understand that I don't know?!" Naruto suddenly shouted, snapping at the pink-haired girl as he continued. "Let go of me" the blond demanded uncharacteristically, taking ahold of her wrists and forcing them off of him, before walking away.

"Look at what you've gone and done now, you never know when to stop- do you, Sakura?" Shikamaru questioned rhetorically out of annoyance, sighing as he rushed after his best friend, calling out his name for him to stop. Surprisingly, Naruto ignored his calls and continued to stomp further into the forest without a care in the world- he was definitely upset. "Naruto, calm down and come back!" Shikamaru shouted, unwillingly jogging to catch up to his best friend as the blond neared a clearing where there was a cliff. Soon enough, they were both on the clearing and Naruto wasn't watching where he was going.

"What is wrong with me, Shikamaru? What did I- what I do to deserve this? Why does everyone hate me so much?" the blond asked, turning around to look at the brunet, tears brimming his eyes as he questioned himself. "The one time!- The one time that something good happens to me, it goes wrong and everyone blames me for it- why? Why does this only happen to me?" Naruto continued, not giving Shikamaru a chance to answer, as he started to become hysteric, backing up further towards the cliff. "If I died, no one would care- would they?" he questioned, chuckling sadly at his sudden realisation.

"No, that's not true- Naruto, are you hearing yourself right now? I care- I care so damn much about you, so does my mother, my father too- do you think we would've taken you in if we didn't care about you? Do you think you're alone? You're not- I'm here for you, my family is here for you- just- please, come here and talk to me" Shikamaru pleaded, not liking the way his best friend was just standing comfortably on the edge of a cliff. He was a shinobi, yes- but, could he really save himself while in such a state?  
"You're just saying that- I'm a burden, I'm always annoying you-"

"But that's who you are!- Is it not? I don't care if you bug me all the time, that's just who you are- I can't blame you for being yourself, I'm glad that you even want to talk to me- you are not a burden at all, we all love you to pieces, Naruto, stop spouting nonsense- I honestly don't know what I would do without you" the brunet confessed, sighing before he continued "Sasuke is an idiot for taking you for granted like that- all those villagers? They don't deserve your kindness, they're just angry because your birth was the best thing to ever happen to this crappy village."

The blond stood there speechless by his best friend's words, he hardly every heard Shikamaru raise his voice like that, showing how much he meant every word he said. Nodding, Naruto decided to back away from the cliff.

  
Well, _he tried to_.

_**"Naruto!-"** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, I'm sorry for the long wait- I said I would update last week aha and I'm sorry. BUT- buT- hear me out, I am officially ready to be back and writing. :> So, I will try to start updating weekly again, see you guys soon!


	11. School

I finish school next week or the week after. After that, I’ll be back on ao3 and write a lot again!


	12. Tears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Read the notes at the end hehe

The ground crumbled beneath the blonde's feet when he attempted to turn, Shikamaru screaming his name as he rushed after his best friend, jumping off in time to engulf the male as they fell, the brunet taking the brunt of the fall as they hit rock after rock, holding Naruto tightly until they had finally hit solid ground, his arms slipping from around his friend, lifeless as they flopped onto the ground alongside him. "Shikamaru?" Naruto questioned, recovering from the shock as he sat up, safe and unscathed, not prepared for the horrific sight awaiting him as he looked at his best friend. Blood. Everywhere. "Shikamaru? Hey- Shikamaru- say something" he said, an underlying urgent tone lacing his words as he gently shook the brunet, waiting for a response. Nothing. "H-hey, this isn't funny, Shikamaru" he continued, a forced chuckle slipping past his lips as he tried his best to assume this was just a joke.

"Shikamaru, please- please tell me this is a joke" the blonde continued further, tears brimming his eyes as he assumed the worse about his non-responsive friend. _Shikamaru couldn't leave him too- he can't- won't let that happen. Anyone but Shikamaru._ "Kurama, let me borrow your chakra" Naruto said, not waiting for a response as he placed his hand on his best friend's stomach, infusing as much chakra as he could. He didn't know how to heal anything- never learned in his life. But, dangerous or not, he had to try. His tears started to stream down his cheeks before they fell, the young male infusing all of his chakra without result. _He can't be dead. Not him._ He was exhausted, he had been infusing such large amounts of chakra each second, that it was surprisingly starting to take a toll on him. He didn't care. He _needed_ Shikamaru.

Dry coughs suddenly broke through the sounds of Naruto crying. "How troublesome" a voice said, those familiar words being all it took for Naruto to burst into a huge fit of tears, collapsing back onto his knees. Sitting up, Shikamaru cupped Naruto's cheeks with his slightly bloody hands, wiping away the tears as they continued to fall.

"I thought you were dead" the blonde cried out, his voice cracking a little as he lunged forward, knocking Shikamaru over with a great force when he hugged him tightly, receiving a chuckle in response as the brunet hugged him back.

"Come on, you really think I'd leave you like that? Don't be silly, Naruto- leaving you is the last thing I'd do" he said, leaning back from the hug slightly to cup Naruto's cheeks again, leaving a soft peck on his forehead "I'll never leave you" Shikamaru promised.

Despite the serious atmosphere, Naruto couldn't help the light blush that spread across his cheeks when his best friend said such things and gave him a little kiss- _why was he so flustered by this?_ "You better not leave me, stupid- now get up, we need to get you healed, I probably just made you unstable with all the chakra I gave you" Naruto said, trying to detach himself to stand up. Key word- tried.

Pulling him back in, Shikamaru wrapped his arms around Naruto yet again "can we just- stay like this for a while?" the brunet asked, receiving a nod in return as Naruto hugged him back. "I'm glad you're not hurt" Shikamaru mumbled, tightening his hold on the other male as they sat there, holding each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! I'm back for real now and this is just a short chapter to help me get back into the swing of this, there will be longer ones soon, please wait for me as I get accustomed to it again!


	13. Acceptance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not proof read y'all- so if you see any mistakes, just pretend you didn't

"Naruto, can I ask you something?" Shikamaru asked, pulling away from the hug a little to look at his best friend, receiving a nod as the go ahead for him to continue. "Tell me,

why do the villagers treat you the way they do?" he questioned, watching as Naruto's eyes widened, the blond trying to stand up and get away. "Naruto, you can tell me-"

"No! I can't, you'd hate me and- I don't think I'd be able to handle you hating me" the blond said, shouting in protest as he moved away from Shikamaru's hold.

"Nothing could make me hate you, you already know that, Naruto" he replied, gently pulling Naruto to sit back down "you can trust me, I would never hurt you"

That promise was enough to break Naruto, how could he doubt his own best friend? "The Kyuubi attack seventeen years ago, on my birthday...I was born just before the attack commenced and the Kyuubi took many innocent lives, including the ones of the Fourth Hokage and his wife...my parents. My father sealed half of the Kyuubi inside me and the other half inside himself before they died, naming me after my mother's clan to avoid potential attempts to kidnap me as a child because of my relation to the Fourth Hokage himself. The Kyuubi is actually a really nice person, his name is Kurama and he was forced to the attack the village. He is not the one to blame for the mass destruction seventeen years ago, but they blame him and me- seeing us as each other, which is why they treat me the way they do" Naruto answered, Shikamaru listening intently, not interrupting at all as he saw the blond was going to continue. "That day you found me, the villagers had just finished beating me and even pulled out a knife on me, stabbing me in the eye, which is the reason for my half blindness" he finished explaining, his head lowered- as if waiting for the rejection and disgust he normally got from others.

Instead, Shikamaru just placed his hand on the blond's head, wrapping the other around his shoulders to bring him in for another hug, holding him tightly. "Naruto, you are not what they say you are- you're not a demon, monster- any of that, you are...special, special to me- my family- even my clan, we love you, _I love you_ , okay? Don't forget that we're here for you- those villagers are ungrateful, you are so strong and so brave, you put your life on the line every single fucking day to make sure people are happy and that's one of the things I absolutely adore about you- despite how anyone treats you, you go out of your way to help them- that's a trait I've only seen in you- you're a one of a kind, Naruto, and you will become Hokage one day, you will make it that far because I believe in you and I will be your assistant when the time comes. Call on me for help and I will be there- Naruto, stop hiding things from us- from me even, I will always be here for you, no matter who or what you are because- to me, you are Naruto, just Naruto, my best friend" the brunet replied, hearing Naruto gradually break down. The blond gripped onto Shikamaru's shirt with the both of his hands as he burst into a fit of tears, crying his heart out, resulting in Shikamaru bringing him closer, silent as he let Naruto release all of his pent up emotions. These heart-wrenching sobs angered the brunet male to no end, they've suppressed him for so long- making him bottle up everything, otherwise they'd probably beat him even more. How disgusting.

Naruto was shocked to say the least, Shikamaru hardly spoke this much- he had trying to knock some sense into the blond the whole day, he wondered how the genius wasn't tired of him yet. _I love you_ was all he could think of as he cried and cried endlessly- Shikamaru was always there for him, without a doubt, the other male stayed by his side whatever he did and wherever he went; did he really just take this friendship for granted? His best friend accepted him with his whole heart and Naruto knew that was obvious to anyone- everyone but him.

"Naruto" the brunet said, causing Naruto to look up at him "it's okay to be yourself" he started, bringing his hands up to cup his friend's cheeks, using his thumbs to gently wipe the tears as they continued to fall. They locked eyes and Shikamaru could practically see the years of pain behind the other male's pupils, hating how much he had missed out on- if only they had this conversation a few years earlier. Shikamaru knew that Naruto had technically just gotten out of a relationship, but maybe he could be selfish- just this once. Leaning down, the brunet pressed his lips against Naruto's capturing his lips in a soft kiss; Shikamaru was hesitant, feeling the blond tense at the sudden advance, before relaxing as he reciprocated like his life depended on it, he had taken Shikamaru for granted this whole time.

Reluctantly pulling away, Shikamaru looked down at Naruto- he had just kissed his best friend- what did he just do- how could he screw up such an important bond? "I'm sorry for that- forget that even happened, let's just go home back home" he said, getting up (although with a bit of difficulty) and taking Naruto with him, helping him get onto his feet.

One thing Shikamaru miscalculated -for once- though, was that Naruto would never be able to forget what he just did.


	14. Not an update

Hi! I apologise for going MIA, I had to study for my exams that are next week. I will try to upload in a week! Two minimum, I’m sorry for the long wait! ;-;


	15. Change?

It was dark when they returned home, the two of them entering the Nara compound together since, he wouldn't admit it openly but, he was worried about Naruto. Even though he stole a kiss from his best friend, he hoped they could just move past it. They went straight up to the brunet's room cautiously when they stepped foot inside the house, not wanting to wake up the Nara couple. "Do you want to me to sleep on the floor?" Shikamaru asked, not facing his best friend as he took out clothes that were suitable for bed.

"Of course not, why-"

"Alright then, you can shower first, I'll take out your clothes for you."

"Okay..." without any complaints, Naruto turned and made his way into the bathroom, not understanding his best friend's odd behaviour. It didn't take him long to shower, stepping out in his towel soon after. Shikamaru barely gave him a glance, walking past the blond as he went to change into the clothes his best friend set out for him. _Why was Shikamaru giving him the cold shoulder? Did he do something wrong?_ Sighing, Naruto slipped into bed, pushing his back against the wall as he closed his eyes, waiting for his best friend to come out; he didn't want to face the brunet directly, not knowing what to say to fix whatever he had done. It wasn't long before the brunet left the bathroom and got dressed, Naruto feeling the sudden dip as the brunet got into bed beside him. 

"I'm sorry" Shikamaru mumbled, turning onto his side to face the sleeping boy next to him, reaching over to cup his whiskered cheek before he continued "I'm sorry" he repeated, gently rubbing his thumb against his best friend's cheek. "I promised myself that I'd never do something like that to you- you fell in love with Sasuke, so I vowed to stay by your side and protect you, instead of pursuing you, yet..." the brunet paused, taking in a deep breath "I forced myself upon you when you were in such a vulnerable state, Naruto- I- I don't deserve you, I'm so sorry" he finished, before he felt himself tearing up, pulling his hand away from his best friend's face; he didn't have the courage to say those words when the blond was actually awake to hear him. What he didn't expect though, was to feel two arms wrap around his shoulders, hugging him tightly.

Naruto was beyond shocked as he reached out to comfort his best friend, Shikamaru crying was a rare- very rare occurrence, so Naruto knew that he regretted kissing him like that "Shikamaru, I would've pushed you away if that was the case, you didn't force me to do anything, I kissed you back- although I may not return your feelings exactly, I did let you kiss me; I _trust_ you with everything and anything, if I showed any sign of not liking where things were going, I know you would've pulled away" the blond pulled back slightly and removed his arms from around the brunet's shoulders, cupping his cheeks instead.

"If you truly love me" he paused, smiling before he leaned forward "then I'm willing to take that chance."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who wants to listen to me sing the Fire Force opening? Jkjk


	16. Tiktok?

Should I make a Tiktok account for my books?


	17. I made it!

Please follow me if you can! :>

@hoonissoonold

My tiktok ^


	18. More than best friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly ooc Shikamaru

Were they dating now? Well, Shikamaru couldn't answer that for sure. Even though they kissed the other night, nothing had really changed. He'd still take this as a step in the right direction though.

"Shika! Hurry up or we're gonna be late!" a voice shouted as the owner loudly made his way upstairs and slammed the bedroom door open, resulting in the brunet groaning in response, turning over in bed.

"Let me sleep" he pleaded, pulling his covers higher as he got comfortable.

"No, it's a mission- we can't be later than Kakashi-sensei" the person replied, pulling the duvet back down and dragging the tired boy out of bed. It wasn't long before they were setting off on a mission, team 7 (minus Sasuke) venturing further away from Konoha as one. 

As night began to fall, they set up camp and sat around the fire together, resting before they'd go to sleep and take turns guarding. Of course though, all good things must come to an end. "Naruto, you didn't answer me the other day, where's Sasuke?" Sakura asked, loud enough for everyone else to hear as she moved closer to the blond, his eyes widening slightly.

"I told you, I don't know" he answered, trying to stay calm as she continued to pester him relentlessly, his fists clenching as he continued to tell her that he didn't know.

"You definitely know, you were always following Sasuke around like the freak show you are!" she shouted back, raising her voice at him, which caused Kakashi to glance back in alarm.

"I said I-"

"He already answered you many times, he told you that he doesn't know. He didn't need to answer you, but he still did. Every time. So back off, Sasuke doesn't even care about you right now, stop fangirling and obsessing over him. As far as I know, you're the only freak show here" someone else said, interrupting Naruto as he was about to shout back at her, a hand unclenching one of his fists and slotting their hands together instead, intertwining their fingers out of view from everyone else; he didn't have to turn to his side to know who it was.

Maybe he was a little too harsh, but Shikamaru didn't regret those words at all. Everyone else was shocked to say the least because, even though he didn't speak that much, the brunet was never rude to anyone and just plain lazy all of the time, but they had seen a new side of him just now. Sakura shut her mouth at that, not knowing what to say to her teammate in response as Naruto gave his best friend's hand a slight squeeze to thank him. Clearing his throat, Kakashi stood up and dusted off his uniform "let's head off to sleep everyone, Shikamaru and Naruto can take first watch" he said, waiting for Sakura to get into her tent, before sending an apologetic look towards the pair and heading into his own.

Standing up, Shikamaru pulled the quiet blond up with him, walking off into the forest "Shika, what are you doing? We can't leave them while they're asleep- we're supposed to stand guard" Naruto hissed quietly, panicking slightly as the camp was no longer in his view when he turned back.

"Kakashi is there, they'll be fine. Just follow me" he instructed, dragging the blond along until they reached an clearing. Shikamaru sat down, resulting in his best friend also sitting down, due to their joined hands. "Are you okay?" the brunet questioned as he turned to his best friend, knowing that he wasn't alright at the moment.

"I'm fine."

"Don't lie to me, Naruto, how long have we known each other?"

"I'm just," he paused, taking a deep breath as he stopped infusing chakra into his blind eye, making it go back to it's dull pale colour, "tired, Shika- she won't stop asking me and it hurts, it hurts that he left me without saying anything and I don't even know where he went. The name calling is even worse. It may seem childish, but I've been hearing things like that for my whole life and to hear those same names coming from my own teammate- I can barely take it anymore, I'm trying- I'm really trying" Naruto finally answered, a quiet sob leaving him. 

Letting go of his hand, Shikamaru wrapped his arm around the blond's shoulders instead, bring Naruto into his chest as he cried- maybe it was the result of Sasuke leaving, but Naruto had been crying more easily lately and it worried him; his best friend hadn't cried this much since the day he found him in that alley. "I understand- you don't always have to keep it up, you're allowed to snap, you're human, not anything else that you've been called- you're Naruto, my best friend. You're not a 'freak show' either, you being half blind doesn't make you any different- even if it did, I'll always be beside you to tell you that all those names they call you- they're all wrong, I'll always be here to tell you that whenever you need me to" the brunet replied, willing to continue being the base of support that Naruto needed. 18 years. Naruto had gone through so much pain for 18 years and the villagers still wouldn't let him rest and it pained Shikamaru to witness it.

Naruto calmed down quite quickly, not wanting to be a bother as he sniffled against his best friend's chest. Pulling back, he smiled slightly as he stood up and dragged Shikamaru up with him "you okay now?" the brunet asked, receiving a nod in return as Naruto slotted their hands together once more.

"I guess I just needed a breather, thank you" the blond said, leaning up to kiss Shikamaru's cheek with a small smile gracing his lips.

As unexpected as that was, even Shikamaru couldn't help the prominent blush that made itself evident across his cheeks. Without saying much more, the brunet just tugged Naruto back through the forest, shielding his face as they walked, knowing his face was still burning from the peck he received. Gosh, he was acting like he was 8 years old and his crush had just said hello to him. The blond chuckled as he followed behind Shikamaru "so even you can get flustered?" he questioned, teasing the male ahead of him as they made their way back to the camp.

"Be quiet" Shikamaru mumbled, no actual anger behind his words as they finally made it back just in time; Kakashi was leaving his tent to stand guard as the two boys passed his tent, receiving a knowing nod from their teacher, before the two got into their shared tent and settled down, laying face to face. "Come here" he said, watching as Naruto moved closer and obediently underneath their sleeping bag (as best friends, they didn't mind just sharing a big one), wrapping his arm around the blond male's waist, "this okay?" he asked quietly, anticipating the rejection just a little.

With a smile, Naruto nodded "after Sasuke left, I don't think we're just best friends anymore- I did say I'd give you a chance, didn't I?" he continued, bringing one of his hands up to cup Shikamaru's cheek, gently rubbing it with his thumb.

"Naruto, I don't want you to feel like you have to give me a chance- I know you still like Sasuke, love him even, and if you're not ready to move on, then don't bother giving me false hope- just reject me. I don't want you to do this because you don't want to hurt my feelings. I'll get over it" the brunet replied, suddenly serious as they spoke in hushed tones and surrounded by darkness, his grip on the other male's waist tightening slightly as he spoke.

"I'm doing this because I want to- Shikamaru, you're always there for me and I've been taking you for granted, even if it's a bit to soon for me to get over that bastard- I know you'll help me and I want to love you in the way you love me."

"Don't regret this, Naruto" the brunet mumbled, pulling Naruto's body flush against his own.

"I would never" he replied, his small smile still present as he relaxed against Shikamaru's own body and removed his hand from his face, letting the other male hold him. Soon after, sleep seemed to catch up to the both of them quite quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is longer than normal as an apology for not updating for a month ;-;


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